Chapter2: When The Best Is For The Better, No Matter The Pain.
"You were just pulled out?" sam inquired
"That's what it's lookin' like." she nodded
"flashbacks?" sam asked. Saint only nodded.
"Gets better."
"How'd you get out? How long?" she asked switching the subject
"Same thing. We are trying to figure it out? Been about 3 months."
"We?... Dean?" she asked like it was a question she shouldn't have asked.
"No. Met up with some people." sam seemed to shift in place
"Is he ok?" she asked straying from eye contact. Same looked and Bobby as if to get the go ahead, with a nod same went on.
"He uhh... he kept his promise." Saint looked from Sam to Bobby with a puzzled face.
"I don't remember anything before..." she replied
"how far back?"
"I remember Fara and Archer,and seeing people I had stuff to patch up with. After that it's black."
"Soo nothing after that?" Saint shook her head.
"AJ that's five months before anything happened."
"At least I have a layout. Can you update me?"
"Well I have somewhere to be but you can tag along for the ride if you want?"
"Sure... But first things first.. where's all my stuff?" a smirk hit her face as she looked at bobby.
"Dean didn't let go of alot of things in the weeks after." Bobby said pulling out a couple of duffle bags from the garage in back of the house.
"Hello babies, Mommy missed you!" she said with a smile pulling out a sawed off shotgun and her pistol.
"You need a moment, to catch up?" bobby mocked her. Grabbing her duffle bags one filled with weapons and ammo the other full of clothes.
"Anywhere in particular you are headed?" sam asked as nice as he could without telling her she wasn't invited.
" I have a couple of ideas. Hopefully they hold up." she reassured him. "Ready?"
"Yeah, Lets go."
"So we made him promise to live a normal life. Baseball and Apple pie type stuff?" saint was confused
"You sound just like him and Yeah. Far as I know he is living with Lisa and Ben. He kept his promise and as far as I am concerned we should let him live the way he is going." sam hinted that it was a bad idea to pull him back into their world.
"He got out." she smiled feeling somewhat grateful "One of very few. I'm happy for him, he deserves it."
Is that true?" sam sounded sceptical
"Im serious, If any of us deserve it... It's dean." that was the end of that disscussion because they both knew Dean more than anyone needed to it was Dean.
"So, in the months before what exactly happened?" she pushed for answers. She needed something to go on.
"For a couple weeks you took off on us. So thats up to you to figure out. We went on a couple hunts here and there. There are somethings that I don't even remember."
"Well as far as you know? Come on Sam, I gotta have some kinda information to go on." She pleaded him to give her anything she could run with. Sam sat quietly thinking and recalling the months before.
"When you finally found us again we were dealing with mostly apocalypse stuff..." he trailed off
"What is it?" she asked trying not to push more than she already had.
"Nothing it's just... you and Dean fought alot during that time and made up.. ALOT." All saint could do was laugh while sam smiled.
"You came back just in time for our trip to heaven and what a waste of time that was. We went head to head against the Whore of Babylon and after that is when you went to talk to Lisa."
"I did?" she asked surprised.
"You started the promise and let me in on it before we both died and you set dean up in the life he is in now."
"Sweet, Brownie points." she muttered
"We locked Dean up cause he was an the verge of saying yes to Micheal, Cas beat the living cap out of Dean, They took our half brother instead."
"Half brother? Cas actually phsically hit dean?"
"You really don't remember any of this do you?" sam questioned her finally believeing she had no clue what happened
"Nothin. How Is Cas?" she asked
"Haven't heard from him since I got back." is all sam said before moving on.
"Dean and I gathered the four ings from the horsemen so we could trap Lucifer in hell and you took off again so like i said can't help there. Bobby slod his soul to Crowley in exchange for the location of death that is also why he can walk again. After all that I let Lucifer posses me thinking i could some how trap him in and I did but before I could He killed castiel and bobby and you because you stepped in between him and dean."
"So I did my part?" she asked quietly
"You did what you had to." he replied
6 Hours later and after a much needed talk Saint grabbed her duffle bags out of the trunk of sams car.
"You've changed" saint said looking into sam's eyes.
"Haven't we both?" he shot a look back at her
"Fair enough!"
"Here," sam said handing her a piece of paper. "Call me with your new number when you get it set up."
"You got it chief, it was nice seeing you!" Grabbing sam she pulled him in for a hug.
"Take it easy AJ"
"You too!" with that sam was in the car and gone. Saint looked up at the house lights still on, taking a deep breathe she walked towards the house. It took forever for the door to open
"Saddie bed now..." Archer choked on his words.. "AJ? how.." Saint didnt know what to say so she stood there with a smile and waited for him to put it all together.
"Archer? Who is.." Fara too had become dumbfounded with the sight on her doorstep. Archer had tears streaming down his face
before he ripped her in for a a huge hug. Saint hugged him back, she could only imagine what he was going through right held her close and as tight as he could and she hugged him back just as much.
"Hold any tighter ya might lose me again" she chuckled to herself. Archer pulled back to look at her and Fara took her turn.
"JayJay I can't believe it. How? When? Are you ok?"
"I can't breathe." saint wheezed and pulled her way out of the hug.
"Come on!" fara ushered saint in the house.
Fara had some tea and food prepared with in a half an hour. The house remained silent for the time past before curiosity got the best of Fara.
"when did you get back?"
"Couple days ago. Called Bobby right after."
"How?" archer growled still in disbelief
"I dont know. I woke up in a house in a white dress in the middle of nowhere. No idea who, how or even why but trust me I wanna know!" her answer seemed to ease her brother.
"So what now?" he asked her.
"Back on the road. Course I need a new vehicle and to get everything figured out."
"Your going to hunt.. after everything you have been through? What exactly have you been through because you seem to be avoiding the question." He let his anger at he decision show.
"Archer, Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to! I am a hunter... I was born, rasied and shaped a killer. This is what I am good at.. THIS is all I know!" she snapped at him. Fara and Archer had seen her livid, even to the extent of throwing things but even then they hadn't been as scared of her as they were right now. Chills ran through Fara's body.
"Come on hun, you probably need to sleep. Tomorrow Archer will take ya to the shop let ya pick a little somethin' out" she smiled and pulled saint along with her.
"I didn't mean to scare you. " saint mumbled to her.
"I know. I also know that I could never have survived what you just got out of... and I wont hold it against you... just be careful around Saddie?" she smiled and hugged her
"Ill do my best!" saint replied.
1 Year Later -
"Emrey?" saint screamed down the halls of the empty warehouse, her gun out and ready.
"EMREY!?" she screamed.
"Clear." he sceamed back.
Lawrence Emery was a hunter Saint met along her travels since she got out of the pit. Lawrence was a hunter from the south. He had a drawl that would drop any woman to her knees, jet black hair and blue eyes. It was a couple hunts together and a couple drunken nights and the two became an item. It wasn't long after she left Fara and Archer's that the nightmares came into play. It was easier for Saint to drink away her nights and it had soon become habit. The nightmares seemed to be less vivid and messed up when she was heavily intoxicated. They never fully went away they just seemed more like false
reality when she was drunk. Lawrence Emrey came into play because he watched over her. Comforted her when she woke up drenched in sweat and screaming. Lawrence had become her crutch and he became the only one who could pull her out of her funk or thats what she convinced herself he was.
"Don't do that!" she sighed walking into the room and pulling him up. Lawrence laughed
"Sorry babe, couldn't help myself."
"Lets go." she snapped unimpressed letting out a whistle a dog came running down towads her. Before Lawrence, Saint had adopted a dog. Mac was his name and he was a black and white Wooly Husky, who came in handy during Her first hunts alone. Since Saint had returned from hell and back to hunting her habit had changed and not only with the drinking. Saint had become more ruthless. She could careless anymore it had it's moments she was intelligent and an exceptional hunter nowso more than before.
"You went pretty hard back there.." he mentioned
"Your point?
"No point just making a statement I guess." he shook his head and jumped in. "Why can't I ever drive"
"Oh honey you drive... just not the road." she smiled at him "Come on Mac" she hollered motioning to the truck.
"I love it when you talk dirty" he smirked at her. The vehicle Saint lifted from Archer was a 1950 pitch black GMC beauty. Normally Saint would go for a Muscle car but this was her new start. Newer rock as well as classic rock would fill their long drives.
Barely awake Saint heard her phone ringing on the nightstand. With a growl she turned over to answer it.
"What!?" she snapped.
"AJ, It's me."
"Sammy? Is everything alright?" she asked, her whole tone becoming softer but more concerned.
"Yea, I need some infomation." he said without actually asking her for her help.
"Tell me where you are and I'll be there as soon as I can." she knew exactly what he wanted.
"Sam?" lawrence let out a deep sigh.
"Yupp." saint grabbed her jeans off the floor and forced them on.
"Its the middle of the night AJ."
"Not a fan of sleep anymore, if you haven't noticed." she spat back.
"Alright I'm up." he said pushing himself up.
"Come on boy!" she called after Mac.
Two days after traveling Saint and Lawrence pulled up at the Campbell hid out as she called it. Saint had met the Campbell's a couple times before through sam and hunting with them. Saint hated hunting in large groups, thinking it was an easy way to kill off a wholembunch of hunters at once. Lawrence smiled at the family as they walked in.
"Hi Lawrence." Gwen smiled knowing it would piss off Saint. And it did. Saint eyes pierced right though her
"Beat it, cherry." she snapped. Lawrence smiled to himself putting a hand on her hip to keep her calm.
"Christian!" she smiled. Saint Didn't know what it was but this family was untrustworthy but for the life of her she could not get over how much she hated Gwen it was something about her. Even christian and Samuel gave her a weird vibe but at least they were bareable.
"AJ Saint, nice to see you back." he replied in a gracious manner. Saint walked right into Samuels office without knocking.
"AJ. Still don't know how to knock?" he smiled at her.
"Still don't call at a decent hour?" she already seemed unimpressed. "Where is Sam?"
"Off on other business but he will meet up with us later." Samuel assured her. With a nod he continued.
"We have the alpha vamp in capture and I need you to break him."
"Break him? As in torture?" she pushed
"That's one way of looking at it..." Christian walked in behind him as if to say something but Saint cut him off.
"What sort of information are you looking for?"
"We need to know where pergatory is" he said flat out which took saint by surprise. Scoffing in his face
"No. No way. Thats the dumbest thing I've ever heard!" she said with a chuckle. Hearing a gun cock behind her she turned to look at lawrence. Christian had a shotgun aimed at his head, his eyes completly black. Stuck in a place where she could say no and let go of this man she may have been growing to love and have his blood on her hands for the rest of her life or saying yes to a bit of torture. Believe it or not her choice was the torture, It's not like this was something she knew nothing about. Hell a year ago she was
in hell being tortured everyday, you pick up on somethings after an ordeal like that.
"Fine, I'll do it." she sighed. The decision although surprising to Lawrence she didn't make a big deal of it at all. It was like she had made a business deal and moved on.
"Great!" Samuel flashed a wicked smile.
"Does Sam know about your demented plans?" she cracked at him
"Some of them... others werent important enough to elaborate on."
"You are one messed up dude." she spat out. "So when do we leave?"
"I have other business to attend to... Christian will take you where you need to go." with that samuel grab a couple things from the office and left her and Lawerence in the hands of christian. Turning towards him she gave him a glare.
"You know, I knew there was something about this family I didn't trust... I felt it in my gut. Oh and by the way you have beautiful eyes" she hissed.
"Shall we?" christian smiled his eyes back to nomal. Saint and Lawrence walked ahead and did what they were asked.
Hours later
Stripped of thier guns and exahusted saint fell to the floor.
"What else could you possibly want fom me... nothing has worked. He's an Alpha for god sakes." Nothing broke him she did every method she could think of every thing she remembered from hell and nothing worked.
"You're not trying hard enough." the Campbell's pushed.
"You wanna give it a go big shot?" she snapped. With a swift kick in the face from Christian saint flew back. Rising to her feet and wiping away the blood Saint shot a look at Samuel.
"Im done. This is over... You wanna keep going fine.. but I will not be a part of it."
"Looks to me like you have no choice." Christian smile.
"and without me it looks like you are shit outta luck bud." She smiled at him pissing him off. Holding up the gun he pointed at her beat up partner.
"AJ don't do it. You're better than this!" his voice weak but honest. Taking in what he said, she stood her ground. With one quick motion Christian shot Lawrence in the chest. Blood seeped from his shirt and Saint ran to his side.
"Emery... Emery look at me." she held his head up.
"You're better than this AJ." he smiled at her. Saint held back everything she was feeling as she watch the man who picked her up and dusted her off when she was a complete wreck, slip right through her hands. The life drained from his eyes and Saint felt a lump in her chest.
"You son of a bitch!" she screamed running at christian. Saint pinned him on the ground repeatedly punching him in the face. All her anger and emotion was waterfalling out and giving her blows to his face a harder hit.
Saint didn't know how long it had been but she knew someone knocked her out. Her head was pounding and in pain.
"Get up" samuel ordered. Saint was in no position to be arguing the sharp pains that would pulse were enough to keep her on the floor for days. Sait felt the firm grip of hands on both her arms keeping her steady but she did not have the strength to keep her head up. Saint could hear conversation between samuel and others but the pain the went through her made it hard for her to consentrate on
what was being said. As the pain ceased Saint looked up to see the two Winchesters. Her head still fuzzy she tried to focus in.
"Sam?" she mumbled.
"AJ? What did you do?" sam looked at samuel
"We needed a favour from her."
"Turns out your girl has a trick or two up her sleeve on torture that would be useful to us." Crowely smiled. Dean stood in horror. First Sam comes back into his life out of the blue but now the woman he fell in love with and watched die was standing in front of him. What the hell was going on. Dean tried to make sense of this and had to convince himself this was real. AJ Saint was standing right there. How did this happen? How was she pulled back? How long had she been back for? All these question swarmed Dean's
head and relieved and happy to see her, he felt a degree of resentment, anger, confusion and betrayal. Because without having to ask, deep down he knew she had been back for awhile.